


Going Home

by bwblack



Category: Sports Night
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-01-01
Updated: 2011-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-14 11:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/148693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bwblack/pseuds/bwblack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Quo Vadimus, Dan finds himself going home alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going Home-Alone

Two hours after the show ended, the euphoria Danny felt about the show's new owner had turned into a severe buzz and was teetering on the edge of full-blown drunkenness, yet it was becoming increasingly obvious it might never get there. As soon as Sports Night signed off for the night, the entire group made a beeline for Anthony's. Apparently Dana had been right, their nightly bar visits may have been lucky after all. It only seemed fitting to celebrate in the very bar where they had first spotted the station's new owner.

They planned to toast their good fortune for the remainder of the night. However, as time passed, people began drifting their own way. Jeremy and Natalie cut out first. From the way they were looking at one another everybody within two counties knew they were headed for a marathon session of make-up sex. Dana quickly left the table in search of their savior. Eliot agreed to drive Kim home and Casey followed them out. He said something about having Charlie in the morning. That was all well and good but suddenly Dan felt very alone.

"Who needs him?" Dan groused as he scanned the bar for a companion to help him continue his celebration. "I am single, attractive, witty, and at least marginally famous." Dan muttered to himself as continued his search. The leggy brunette in the corner did nothing for him, the redhead flirting with the bartender seemed a little too needy, and the blonde drinking the champagne cocktail at the bar seemed much too easy. If he wanted easy he would have kept Rebecca's phone number.

Yes, this was a sad group of women and he had no intention of taking any of them home. What was the point? He always enjoyed chasing women more than he enjoyed sleeping with them. He spent less than ten minutes with Rebecca before deciding that he no longer cared for her. Those feelings only existed when they first met. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. He enjoyed changing her mind. He loved how annoyed she became when he refused to stop showing up in her office. However, when it was all said and done, that was the only part he enjoyed. When he was lying in bed at night, he never thought about her.

Dan sighed as he paid his tab and walked out into the rain to catch a cab. He left his car at work so often that he sometimes wondered why he owned one. It would have been useful in LA, however, in New York he spent way too much money on parking and he spent more than that going home in cabs. "Want to buy a car?" He slurred to the taxi driver.

When the cab driver said nothing Dan gave a defeated shrug. "I even get ignored by the people who I pay." For a day that should have been one of the best in his life Dan was not having a good time. His show had been saved, he was able to reject Rebecca as thoroughly as she rejected him and he would not be forced to leave his best friend. However all of that had left him very alone.

"Bed." He mumbled longingly as the cab pulled in front of his apartment complex. Bed never let him down. As soon as he was there he could take make the loneliness go away. No matter what else was going on in his life. He never had to be alone in bed. As soon as he closed his eyes he could be with anybody in the world he wanted.

That thought made him almost giddy as he rode the elevator up to is apartment. "What if Robert Wagner had sent me flowers?" Dan mused as he began plotting his fantasy.

By the time he opened his front door, Dan had flung himself fully into picturing the actor he had admired in his younger years. "Strong, Funny, and capable." Dan smirked as he headed for his bedroom. "Robert Wagner would do." He decided while removing his pants.

"No, Reggie White." He changed his mind as he removed his shirt. The massive, strong, calloused hands of a football player would be so wonderfully rough as they massaged his nipples. Dan moaned slightly as he rubbed his nipples and ran his hand down his body. The texture of Reggie White's hands would be so amazing everywhere, Dan imagined as he gripped his hardened form.

"Want Wet." Danny groaned almost incoherently. He found his knees weak by the intensity of his fantasy. He brought his hand up to his mouth; letting his tongue dance over the tips of his fingers tongue the fantasy morphed again. Robin Williams, he thought with a grin, that man had one amazingly talented tongue.

That delightfully amusing fantasy dissolved with the others as soon as Dan sank down on his bed. "Even rejected by my own head." Dan sighed defeated. As hard as he tried, he failed to recapture the images that had excited him earlier. This was becoming an increasingly bothersome problem. For the past several years he periodically found himself thinking of Casey when he was alone in bed. After a while he even dreamt of Casey while with other women. For the last year Dan began relying on his imagined encounters with his partner to get him through the night. It didn't matter if he was by himself or with a supermodel; as soon as his body hit the mattress all of Dan's thoughts were of his partner.

Tonight was different. Dan's previous fantasy vanished. Casey, on the other hand, did not show up. "Come on Case, don't let me down." Dan pleaded as he again found himself painfully alone. He consciously tried to picture Casey's long slender fingers running up and down his body, nothing. Dan strained to hear Casey's voice, deep with desire, whispering words of encouragement in Dan's ear.

"Finally." Dan's relief was evident in his tone of voice. He could hear Casey. He focused on the familiar voice trying to make out the words that would carry him to a heavenly climax. "Shit!" Dan exclaimed as heard the words clearly.

"You can do it without me." Came Casey's somber voice.

Dan shook his head. "You are my fantasy. You do what I say." Dan demanded as he attempted to change Casey's word.

"You can do it with out me, Dan." Casey's voice remained solid.

"You aren't even here." Dan tried to reason with the voice. "I made you. I can make you do what I want."

"You can do it with out me." Returned the humorless voice.

Dan grew frustrated. "Fine, I will do it with Rebecca." He cringed as soon as the words escaped his mouth. "Make that Raquel Welch..Reese Witherspoon... Robin Wright..." After calling out each name he tried to use them to replace Casey. None of it worked. Casey's statement never changed. Out of frustration Dan attempted to focus on Sam Donovan, as if even an imaginary Casey would recoil at the thought of the ratings man who enticed Dana.

"You can do it without me." Casey insisted stubbornly.

It became increasingly obvious to Dan that he was on his own. He couldn't remember the last time he had touched himself without thinking of his somebody. "I can do this." Dan gave himself a pep talk as he cleared his mind and let his hands work on their own. With several quick thrusts he managed the sticky release that relieved the discomfort of his fantasy-induced erection. It also left him very dissatisfied.

"I can do it without you.' He noted out loud. "But it sucks." Unable to deal with the implications of that realization, Dan rolled over and drifted off into a fitful dream filled sleep.


	2. Seeking Professional Help

Realizing his obsession with Casey was only getting worse; Dan called in late for work and went straight to Abby's. So he didn't have an appointment. He had an emergency. That had to be good enough. Dan arrived at the office in record time. He blew past the receptionist and walked straight into Abby's main office.

"This isn't your appointment time, Danny." Abby tried to sound less annoyed than she felt. "This is Mr. Case's time." Abby motioned to the confused man sitting in front of her. "He gets to talk to me, because he called and made an appointment".

Danny nodded at the man who was sitting next to him. "Hi." Dan smiled his most charming smile. Well, the most charming smile that he reserved for people he had no intention of trying to bed. "You don't mind me being here do, you?"

"Well.." The man stuttered, trying hard to express his thoughts on the subject.

Before he could come up with something more profound, Abby interrupted. "You can not do this Daniel." Her stern tone warned that she meant business.

"Only my mother can call me Daniel, Abigail." Dan glared at her. He was less than amused at her use of his full name. Honestly, he preferred Daniel, but that name combined with that tone of voice sent shivers up his spine. Before Abby had any chance to react, Dan started speaking. "I am talking to you, Mr. Case. What do you liked to be called?" He shot a look at Abby and then returned to the patient.

The man looked taken aback but answered anyway. "Justin, I suppose. That is my first name.

Dan tried hard to keep a smile from playing across his face. "Aside from the obvious, what seems to be your problem?"

Justin Case studied the man in front of him before answering. "It seems like nobody ever listen to me. That is a problem in my profession; I am a trial lawyer. Dr. Jacobs thinks my problem stems from low self esteem." He smiled helpfully.

"Well, Justin, do you know what I do when people don't listen to me?" Dan waited for the man's reaction. Seeing a feeble nod, he continued. "I speak louder. Sometimes I even use a bullhorn." Dan's voice dripped with a surprising sincerity.

"And people listen to you?" Justin's eyes sparkled with amazement.

"Millions everyday." Dan answered truthfully. "I have my own television show. In fact, I think TV is a great way to get your voice heard. You need your own TV show." Dan smiled brightly. If he thought the idea was absurd he never let it show. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a business card and wrote down a name and number. "Cal Davis, he runs a local public access station. I think you would be perfect in the 2 am slot he needs filled. You should call him today, soon, now. If you catch him before racquetball he is much more receptive to new ideas."

The man stood up in one quick surprisingly graceful move and snatched the card from Dan's fingers. "I will get right to that. Thank you so much." Without another word he sprinted to the door and was gone from sight.

"I don't think he recognized me." Dan sounded a little disappointed as he sat down in the chair across from Abby's desk.

"He will be devastated if he doesn't get the show, Dan. Do you ever think about that?" Abby sighed. Sometimes she wondered if they had made any progress at all.

"Relax." Dan smiled soothingly. "The show that just vacated the two o' clock slot was "Taxidermy By Numbers". I think our friend, Mr. Case, will have no problems landing an hour long program. I just hope he has something to say." Dan pondered that for only a second before continuing. "Enough about Justin, we have more important things to discuss."

"You; I gather?" Abby sighed in a defeated tone.

"What else? You know I am your favorite subject."

Abby shook her head. "What is it this time, Dan?"

"I think I am in love." Dan groaned a little as he spoke.

"And the problem is?" Abby sighed of all the problems her patients had falling in love was usually not high on the list of emergency situations, at least not for her single patients.

"I am in a professional relationship with the person." Dan explained in part. He just couldn't quite bring himself to admit that Casey was the object of his affections.

"Dan." Abby searched her head for the right words. "It isn't that I am not flattered. You are very handsome, and talented and you have many great qualities." Abby never had a chance to finish her polite brush off. She was interrupted by Dan's almost hysterical laughter.

After Dan had a second to curb his laughter he attempted to explain where Abby had gone wrong. However, he found it hard to begin speaking without triggering another round of giggles.

"Natalie then? Or Dana?" Abby offered, attempting to ignore the beet red color of her face. Dan obviously thought of her as more of a friend than a doctor, he tried to pick her up the first night they met; surely it wasn't a stretch to believe that he had developed feelings for her. Still, she shouldn't have said anything until she was sure, and for that she was humiliated, and maybe a little disappointed.

Finally, Dan composed himself. "If only it were that easy." He took a deep calming breath before admitting the truth. "Casey."

"Your partner Casey? The 92nd most influential person in sports? That Casey?" Try as she might she was unable to hide her amazement. "When did this happen?"

"No, Casey Afleck." Dan retorted sarcastically. "Of course my partner Casey." Dan sighed, in the last fourteen hours he had spent a good deal of time trying to figure out when exactly he had fallen in love with Casey, truth be told he was still a little hazy on that question.

After a long pause he continued, "Well, I imagine I always found him attractive. We met at a broadcasters convention when I was senior at Dartmouth. He had recently won his first major award and was just famous enough to excite convention goers; but still low enough on the totem pole to agree to do that sort of thing. I wanted to get as far away from this coast as possible. New York was too close to Boston, too close to Philadelphia, too close to any major market in the east. My parents still barely tolerated me; and I thought I deserved it. Casey was quickly moving up the ranks in Sacramento and they needed somebody to fill his shoes.

"We talked for a couple of hours at the conference and I flew out a few weeks later to interview. From the moment I walked into the offices at KSAC it was like we were best friends. The interview was a joke. Casey and I had a great rapport from the beginning. The station manager saw that immediately. It was enough to persuade him to give me the job. I went home and finished school. Two months later I was living in Sacramento. Of course, by the time I got there, Casey had moved into a better job in Portland. We didn't work together for another five years. But we never went a week without calling one another, and never a month passed that we didn't find some excuse to see each other.

"You see the thing is," Dan continued, "I had better offers, much better offers. Something drew me to Casey. Something kept me from losing touch with him. I have never kept up with friends. I know where maybe three of my friends from college are today, and that is only because I periodically run into them in the city. Casey is the only person I have ever made any real effort to remain close with. I have never been able to let him go." Dan shook his head. "I wish he could say the same thing about me."

Abby knew Dan had just admitted to his core problem. "What do you mean by that? You wish he couldn't let you go?"

Dan blinked hard against the pain of remembering the day before. "You know the station was up for sale, right? Well, we were saved. However, for a long time it didn't look good. We got a great offer in LA. Casey, Dana and I could have stayed together. However, Casey turned it down. He wouldn't uproot Charlie, his son." Dan sighed. "And I understand; I do. Casey is a good father; Charlie will always be his number one priority. However, I almost lost him. We would have stayed friends. But it wouldn't have been the same. By some miracle we were saved by billionaire with a crush on Dana and a better business sense then any of the morons who ran Continental Corp. However, I came way too close to losing him."

Abby walked out from behind her desk and put her hand on Dan's shoulder. "You didn't lose him. Now you need to capitalize on that."

Dan shot her a look that could only be read as confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Wish I could tell you more, however, our time is up." Abby dismissed Dan with a smile. "Make an appointment next time, Danny." She called to him as he opened the door to leave.


	3. A Letter to Louise, or Maybe Sarah

Dan couldn't believe his luck. He was kicked out of Abby's office before he even came close to resolving his problem. "Where can I turn now?" Dan asked himself as he stepped of the elevator. Before the words were even of his mouth, Jeremy stepped directly into Dan's sight. "Jeremy!"

"Dan!" Jeremy mirrored Dan's enthusiastic tone.

"I have a question." Danny grinned as he placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder, and began leading him down the hall towards editing.

"I have an answer." Jeremy smirked. "However, I have no need to be in editing. I was just in here."

"With Natalie?" Dan asked with a knowing grin. One of Natalie's favorite earrings sat on top of a control board. Dan carefully picked up the piece of jewelry, and waved it in front of Jeremy's face.

Jeremy tried to grab the evidence, however, he failed miserably. "Dan." Jeremy groaned; trying to think of something to do. "What do you want to know?" He hoped by steering Dan back to his question the earring would be forgotten.

"Dan started to sit down, but mental images of what had obviously transpired earlier kept him from getting comfortable. "We need to go somewhere else." Dan demanded. "Where else is private?

"Why do you keep trying to get me alone?" Jeremy asked with a worried grin. "You are not going to ask me out, are you?"

Dan laughed as he followed Jeremy down the hall. They stopped in front of a door in the corner of the building. Upon opening the door, he found a very spacious corner office with an amazing view of the city. "Where are we?"

"Casey's office." Jeremy answered with a shrug. "You have never been in here?"

"I didn't even know it existed, until yesterday." Dan admitted. "There are no glass walls into the office interior."

"Which is what makes it private." Jeremy no longer found the exchange entertaining. "What is it that you want to know?"

"Who do you ask when you need advice?" Dan asked bluntly.

"Advice about what? I give great advice." Jeremy sincerely wanted to help his friend with whatever was troubling him. Or at least he wanted the conversation to end.

"I am sure you do, my friend. However, I need to talk to somebody outside of the office." Dan explained.

"You don't have any friends?"

"Outside of Sports Night? No." Dan realized that was more than a little depressing.

"I always write to my sister, Louise." Jeremy answered while silently wondering how a man as friendly, outgoing and marginally famous as Dan had no outside friends.

"She helps?" Dan eyes shined with a new glimmer of hope.

"Usually." Jeremy nodded. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Dan left.

Before returning to his office, Dan searched for Natalie. "Hey," He greeted her happily when he finally ran into her. "Missing something?" He asked with a devilish grin.

"Aside from your script for tonight's episode?" Natalie glared at Dan playfully.

"Aside from that, yes." Dan agreed.

"I have my job back, I have my boyfriend back, and I can tease you anytime I want? I am complete." Natalie grinned from ear to ear.

"Hmmm. You have all that, and yet, you are only wearing one earring." Dan smirked.

Natalie brought her hands up to each of her earlobes, and found one of her lucky earrings missing. "Give it to me, Danny." She demanded without any trace of amusement.

"Only if you answer a question for me." Dan smiled. "Who do you ask when you need advice, outside of the office?" Dan added the last part as an afterthought.

"Why can't you talk to somebody in the office? Is something going on? Are you thinking of quitting?" Natalie began panicking. "Who will I tease?"

"I didn't say I was leaving, Natalie. I just want to know who you talk to."

"Jeremy's sister, Louise." Natalie sighed. "Promise you are not leaving?"

"She must be something else." Dan smiled as he handed Natalie her earring. "Thanks." He walked back to his office before Natalie had a chance to say anything else.

"Where have you been all day"?" Casey teasingly tapped his watch to point out Dan's tardiness.

"Paying homage to my scores of adoring fans." Dan's eyes sparkled with a mischievous grin while he opened his laptop to begin writing his own letter to Louise.

"Likely story." Casey smirked. "What are you working on?" Casey hoped it was the script.

"I am writing a letter." Dan glanced up at Casey only long enough to answer his question. The look in his eye made it obvious, to Casey, that Dan had no intention of answering any more questions until after he was done.

Dan labored over the letter for over an hour. He wrote and deleted the same series of sentences so many times he made himself dizzy. After having the feelings bottled up for so long, he couldn't imagine where to begin. Finally, realizing he could not get much better without giving himself a severe case of carpel tunnel, Dan printed off the letter, and placed it in an envelope. "Done." He smiled triumphantly as he placed the letter on the edge of his desk.

"Louise?" Casey asked curiously. "A new flavor of the month?"

"Jeremy's sister." Dan answered without giving any further explanation.

"What about my sister?" Having heard Louise mentioned, Jeremy rushed into the office.

"We need to learn to close the door." Dan quipped before handing the letter to Jeremy. "Could you mail this? I do not have the address."

"You wrote to my sister?" Jeremy couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"You told me to write her." Dan searched Jeremy's expression. He didn't have any inkling of what had upset his friend.

"I told you I wrote her. I never said you should." To further illustrate that he had no desire to have Danny contact his sister, Jeremy tore the letter in half. "You have a sister; write to her. Without another word, Jeremy left the office.

"Maybe she could help." Dan contemplated the possibilities as he tried to remember if he had filed his sister under S for Sarah or R for Rydell.

"Help with what, Danny?" Dan had said precious little all day, and Casey was beginning to seriously miss the banter.

"Not important, Case." Dan brushed Casey off without looking up. Every time he looked at Casey, Dan thought about the events of the night before. Usually he enjoyed stealing glances at Casey. Memorizing looks and expressions to incorporate into his nightly fantasies, gave Dan strength. He loved trading pointless conversation with the man across from him, if only to hear the very slight Minnesota accent. Dan lived to watch the ends of Casey's mouth turn up, signaling the beginning of a heartwarming smile. Dan often found himself watching Casey fight off boredom by practicing his hook shot. The way Casey's chest muscles rippled under his shirt would make anybody swoon. In fact, Dan spent a considerable amount of time trying to bring a home gym into the office.

Dan desperately tried to shake off the mental image of a shirtless Casey doing bench presses right in front of him. "God I need help." Dan groaned as he imagined Casey wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts while strengthening his shapely calves.

"No arguments here, Partner." Casey concluded before walking out of the office, desperate for anybody to talk to.

"Dear Sarah." Dan typed. If he couldn't talk to somebody he was going to explode.


	4. Dinner And A Memory

Dan nervously tapped his fingers on a small table in the back of the Carnegie Deli. He wasn't sure that the deli, popular to New York natives and tourists alike, was the best place for the meeting, but Sarah had insisted.

"Danny!" An enthusiastic woman shouted from the front of the restaurant.

Way to remain inconspicuous; Dan groaned silently. Before he could think anything else, he was enveloped in a tight, warm embrace. "Sarah!" Dan exclaimed happily. He had forgotten that hugs from members of his family could be so warm.

"I am so glad you emailed me." The tall, slender brunette jubilantly began as she took a seat across the table from Dan. "It has been far too long, big brother."

Dan couldn't help but smile. Sarah had been an excellent choice, and the friendly reception was exactly what Dan needed to put his mind at ease. "I wasn't sure you would come." Dan admitted.

"You weren't sure I was in New York." Sarah's demeanor soured a little as she looked into her brother's eyes. You haven't called me in years. We haven't had dinner like this since Sam died."

Dan stared down at the table unable to look at the pain in his sister's eyes. "I didn't think anybody wanted to hear from me." Dan sighed. "Mom and Dad didn't, not at first."

"Well I did." Sarah took Dan's hand and forced him to look up at her. "I desperately wanted to hear from you. When I was little, you used to take me here for sweets after school. Do you remember that? You would order a piece of cheesecake and two chocolate milks, and I would tell you everything that was going on with me. I used to live for those special days. Mom and Dad were always too busy, Sam always had plan of his own, and David had already left for Stanford.

"After Sam died I snuck into his room. He had Catcher in the Rye for summer reading; he never finished it. I did. I devoured it. I identified with Pheobe. She had one brother in California, one brother gone, and another lost, alone, and hurting. I used to think you were going to sneak into my room one night, just like Holden, and bring me here, or to central park, or anywhere. You never did."

"I thought you blamed me for Sam, just like David and our parents did. Just like I did."

Sarah smiled weakly. "It wasn't your fault, Danny. You weren't there. You didn't give him the pot, you didn't smoke it with him, and you certainly never made him get into that car. You set a bad example, one he followed, but Sam was a bright kid. He knew what could happen, he got high, and he didn't think. That wasn't your fault."

Dan blinked hard to deter the tears that were threatening to fall. "By the time I had enough courage to come home, you had moved to California."

"Well, I am back now. I start graduate school, at Columbia, in the fall. So, lets make a deal. We make dinner a semi regular thing, and all is forgiven? What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan, but it."

Before Dan could finish his thought, Sarah interrupted. "We are okay, Danny. No more apologies, just a fresh start." To illustrate her point, Sarah quickly changed the subject. "You said, in your email, that you had some sort of problem. What's up?"

"I think." Danny shook his head. "No, I know that I am in love."

"And that is a problem?"

"I am in love with my partner on Sports Night."

"Casey?" Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.

"You have seen the show?" Dan returned the surprised expression.

"No." Sarah rolled her eyes sarcastically. "My big brother has a TV show, and I have never seen it. What kind of person do you think I am? I got cable so I could watch your show. I watch it religiously."

"If only I could get you a Nielson box." Dan quipped in an effort to conceal how moved he was by his sister's gesture.

"You wish." Sarah smirked. "You are in love with Casey? Casey McCall? Casey with the silky blonde hair, the blue eyes, and the million dollar smile? Good taste. You guys have such great chemistry. I can't believe I never saw it before."

"You didn't miss anything. We are not lovers. I am in love with him. It doesn't go both ways." The disappointment in Dan's voice was more than obvious. "There has never been anything to give me any indication that he might feel the same way, that he is even capable of feeling the same way. Well, nothing to speak of, anyway."

"But something?" Sarah prodded.

"One night, a lifetime ago." Dan closed his eyes and let the memory of the one night in Minneapolis wash over him. Casey made his way up to Dan's room with a bottle of Jaegermeister that was left over from the party. With little encouragement, the men continued the party well into the night. With their inhibitions suppressed by the alcohol, words were exchanged in a haze of a heady drunkenness. And the first kiss, long and hard, tasted of Jaeger. Not that Dam minded. When introduced by Casey's rough tongue, the taste was welcomed, desired, even craved. Hungry kisses could not quell the appetite Dan felt growing inside of him.

Casey moved his exploratory kisses downward. Tasting each new inch of Dan's exposed skin as his fingers, loosening the buttons on Dan's shirt, deftly revealed more flesh. The kisses, wet and fiery against Dan's skin, felt like nothing ever experienced by man, too sweet to be real, yet, too real to be imagined. Dan allowed himself enticed by them. He never had a choice. By the time Casey reached the last button on Dan's shirt, Dan's knees had weakened. With that simple encouragement, Casey's hands eagerly loosened Dan's belt, unbuttoned his jeans, and pressed against Dan's hardened form as they slowly lowered the zipper.

No longer able to stand on his own, Dan brought Casey with him as he fell against the bed. The men barely noticed their change of position. They continued touching, tasting, and exploring until their bodies gave out in a euphoric exhaustion. And then, still tangled up with one another, they drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Dan sighed as the happy memory faded. One drunken night had turn into one painful morning. As soon as the first light entered the hotel room window, it was over. Knowing they could not continue, Dan got up, showered, shaved and dressed. By the time Casey awoke, all the remnants of the night's activities were long gone. Casey only remembered bringing a full bottle up from the bar. Dan never had the courage to say more.

The single night of passion had stayed with Dan. Before the event he always thought Jaeger tasted of cough syrup. After that night, Jaeger always tasted of Casey. Often times he found himself wearing the bathrobe he had stolen, as if some scent remained on it. Until recently the memories of that night had been enough. Now Dan needed more. Dan smiled weakly as he wondered what Casey needed.


	5. Missunderstandings

"A job interview. It has to be a job interview. Natalie paced up and down the floor of Dan and Casey's office. "Where else would he be?" After all the discussion about Dan needing to talk to somebody, Dan had disappeared mysteriously.

"Calm down. He could be at dinner. He does eat sometimes." Casey tried to sound significantly calmer than he felt. Dan had been acting weird all day. He was late for work, he wasn't talking, and he rarely went out before the show. What if Danny had gotten a great offer while the fate of Sports night was still in the air? What if staying with friends wasn't as important to Danny as Laker Girls were? Casey kept running over the scenarios in his head.

Natalie latched onto any hope shoe could. "What do you think he is doing right now?" Natalie prayed Casey would tell her all about Danny's penchant for the Thursday night Lobster special at McClean's Seafood Depot.

Right now? Casey asked himself. Right now Dan is being wined and dined by some ESPN suit. Right now he is signing away over ten years of friendship for beaches and surgically enhanced blonde bimbos. Casey couldn't stop thinking of the possibility that Dan was dissolving their partnership. However, saying it out loud would hurt too much. "I don't know, Natalie. I need to work on my script." Or, maybe I need to be alone; Casey added silently.

"Fine." Natalie pouted. "But that script better be great!" She yelled as she made her way down the hall in search of another confidant.

"Not Likely." Casey groaned as he stared at his blank computer screen. He didn't have a prayer of getting anything done. He always worked better with Dan. One day working alone would not kill him; but what if it was forever? How could he ever write more than a few paragraphs without a playful nudge from his partner?

Casey silently laughed at the irony of it all. Nobody knew. Hell, Danny didn't know. Casey needed Dan. He needed Dan desperately. From the first time they met there was a connection. That connection was what kept Casey fresh. From the day Danny first set foot in the KSAC studios Casey relied on him. Whenever he was stuck, Casey simply made a phone call. Need a sentence? A paragraph? An idea or anything else, all he had to do was ask Dan. Dan had been number one on Casey's speed dial for eleven years, a fact that had driven Lisa crazy for just as long.

She blamed Dan for the dissolution of the NBC deal. She blamed Dan every time she turned on late night TV and wasn't greeted with The Late Night with Casey McCall Show. Lisa never understood. Casey wanted Dan at NBC. He fought the network. He begged to have Danny added to the writing staff. In the end the Network was more than happy with the show minus Dan. Casey had to turn them down. He couldn't make it work without Danny. Sure he could write his way out of a hostage situation, but only if he could banter along the way, and nobody bantered like Dan Rydell.

"Good evening." Dan chirped happily as he walked into his office.

"What's good about it?" Casey grunted under his breath.

"Somebody had a good time while I was gone." Dan smirked sarcastically. "What is the matter? Did you miss me?"

More than you know. Casey answered silently. "You wish. Where have you been?" Casey tried to sound nonchalant as he answered Dan.

"Out to dinner."

"With whom?"

"What, are you afraid I am stepping out on you?" Dan grinned. "And you always say that I am the woman."

"If the shoe fits." Casey quipped.

"The shoe doesn't fit, because you keep trying to put me in cute little suede pumps." Dan smirked.

"Actually, I have always pictured you in heels."

"Why? You are the one with the shapely calves."

"Cute, Danny." Casey sighed.

"Yes I am. Thank you for noticing."

Casey grinned. "There you go again, always fishing for compliments."

Dan shrugged. "It passes the time." He opened his computer screen and began working.

Casey groaned. He wished something would make time pass for him. Every sigh, groan and smirk Danny emitted while writing, pleased Casey immensely. He found the way Danny's brow furrowed while reading over fresh copy undeniably endearing. Casey even enjoyed the way Danny cracked his knuckles when he was searching for the perfect word.

Casey tried to concentrate on something, anything. However, it was no use. Every subject he thought of reminded him of times he spent with Dan. How could Dan be throwing it all away for pom-pom girls and a warm climate?

I almost threw it away; Casey reminded himself. He had been ready to stay in New York while Dan left. But that was for Charlie. Charlie threw himself into school after the divorce. When things were going badly at home, his friends had provided a stable environment. Casey couldn't take his son away from something that meant so much to him? But what reason did Danny have to dissolve their partnership? Couldn't he see that it had been the hardest decision of Casey's adult life? Didn't Danny know ho many sleepless nights Casey spent wrestling with himself? Casey sighed. Obviously splitting up was easier for Danny.

Dan rolled his neck and scooted away from his desk. "Perfect." He grinned as he read the final script changes one last time. "I am brilliant if I do say so myself."

"I bet that is what all of the people in LA think." Casey spat out bitterly.

Dan looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"You know." Casey rolled his eyes. He didn't appreciate the games.

Before Dan could answer they were called into wardrobe. It was not the greatest show of their professional careers. Both men seemed more tense than usual, and the control booth operated in semi-functional confusion as Dana and Natalie periodically slipped out to discuss the rumors about Danny' s departure.

"Is it true? Is he leaving?" Dana cornered Casey as soon as he arrived back to his office.

"I don't know." Casey sighed dejectedly.

"We can ask him at Anthony's; I guess. Where is he anyway?"

"He left from the studio. He is probably packing right now." Casey grumbled.

"We have to do something." Dana stormed out in an effort to round up the rest of the staff for a strategy meeting.

Everybody met at Anthony's an hour later. Each person had their own theory about what was going on with Danny. "He is in love with me." Kim quipped. "Knowing he can never have me has become too much for him to bare." She hated the idea of Danny leaving, but she hoped to lighten the somber mood that had fallen over the Sports Night table.

"I thought it was me he is in love with." Elliot pretended to be hurt.

Casey couldn't take it anymore. All the speculation was driving him crazy. Rumors weren't doing them any good. They needed to talk to Danny. They needed to show him how much they cared. That was the only way to make him stay. That is exactly what Casey intended to do. "I have to go." He announced before jumping up from the table and storming out the door.


	6. A Confession

Twenty minutes later Casey had arrived at Dan's building, bribed the doorman, and ran up the six flights of stairs to Danny's apartment. Standing breathless in the hallway, Casey's mind raced to decide what he was going to say.

"How can I tell him that I need him?" Casey sank to the ground. "How can I ask him to give up his dream, just because I would miss having him around?" Casey sighed. Big emotional scenes were never his favorite. "Just do it." That was the only option he had left. Casey rose nervously, tapped, and then pounded on Dan's door.

"Where's the fire?" Dan called as he raced to put his jeans back on. Why was it that whenever his fantasies really started to come together somebody always arrived unannounced?

Casey continued knocking. He had to see Dan before his courage failed him.

Dan looked through the peephole, shook his head in disbelief, pinched himself, and looked again. Obviously Casey had figured out how Dan entertained himself in the evenings, and had come to kick his ass. "What do you want?" Danny asked while opening the door.

"You." Casey answered breathlessly.

I must be dreaming; Dan sighed. "Okay, what do you really want?"

"I want you to stay." Casey answered without explanation.

This is my apartment, Case." Dan rolled his eyes. "You couldn't kick me out if you wanted to."

"In New York, Dan. I want you to stay at Sports Night."

Danny shook his head. Either he was dreaming, or Casey had gotten into some bad crack. "Where else would I go?"

"LA." Casey rolled his eyes. It hadn't occurred to him that his hypothesis might be wrong.

"Why would I go there?" Danny collapsed on to the couch. "Sports Night was saved. We still have our jobs, all of us. As a mater of fact, we are all under contract."

Relief was evident on Casey's face as he spoke. "You aren't going anywhere?"

"I thought I might try bed. It looked pretty comfortable before you arrived. I will see you tomorrow." Dan turned and headed to his bedroom. He couldn't help but enjoying the idea that Casey would miss him. It gave him so much more material to work into his nightly fantasies.

"Wait." Casey couldn't let him leave. "You really aren't going?" You promise?"

"What?" Dan rolled his eyes as he turned again to face Casey. "You are worried about never seeing me again?" That was rich. "You didn't care much about that last week."

"What do you mean by that? I had to stay, for Charlie."

"Kid's move all the time, Case." Danny sighed.

"Yeah, we did." Casey slammed down on the couch. "Every time Dad moved up in the company, we moved. I was in five different schools in six years. We always lived in bigger houses, in better neighborhoods, with more elite country clubs, but every time, it got a little harder to make friends. I couldn't do that to my son, no matter how much it hurt me."

Dan dropped his head. "You wanted to go to LA with Dana and me?"

"Of course I did. Dana is a great producer, we put on an outstanding show, and with a little decent publicity we could really get the recognition that we both deserve." Casey emphasized the both.

Danny sighed. The list was far from the point. "You wanted to go for our careers?" The disappointment in his voice was thinly veiled.

"I wanted to stay with you, Dan." Casey sighed. "That is why I have been going crazy all day. I thought you were acting weird because you were moving. I thought this was goodbye."

Danny smiled. "Not even close." If only knew.

"So, what is going on with you?" Casey cocked his head to the side to look into Danny's eyes. "You haven't been yourself all day. Who did you have dinner with? We all assumed it was a station representative from LA."

"You shouldn't assume." Danny grinned as he plopped down on the couch next to Casey. "I had dinner with Sarah."

"New girlfriend?" Casey's voice cracked almost imperceptibly.

Dan smiled. He had no reason to believe that the catch in Casey's voice was anything more than a tickle in his throat, however, just the possibility that it could be something more made Danny's face light up. "What if she is?"

"Just curious." Or insanely jealous, Casey added silently. "It isn't like you to go out without telling me."

"Sarah is my sister, Casey." Danny prayed relief would wash over his friends face.

Casey gave a puzzled look. "You don't see Sarah, not since.."

"My brother died." Dan finished sadly. "I do now. Jeremy thought she might be able to help me solve this problem I have been having."

"Did she?" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Not in the least." Dan laughed. "But it was great seeing her."

"What is the problem?" Casey changed the subject slightly.

"It is personal." Dan protested.

"So? We are best friends, remember? Just tell me. Maybe I can help.

Danny couldn't help but smile. Casey could help all of his most pressing problems. Dan didn't know what made the words come out of his mouth. Maybe it was fatigue, or idiocy, or temporary insanity, but before he could stop himself it was out in the open. "I am in love with you." He whispered.

"What?" Casey shook his head certain he was hearing things.

Realizing the finality in what he said, Dan had no choice but to continue. "I love you."

"You love me the way you would a brother?" Casey inquired. Dan loved women. Surely he was hearing things.

Dan shook his head. "You know what I mean Casey."

"Like a man loves a woman?" Casey grinned through his astonishment.

"There you go again, always calling me a woman." Danny smirked. "I guess you were closer to the truth than you thought."

". You have always gone out with women."

"Yeah well, I never thought that having a gay anchor on the team would help our ratings." Dan stood slowly. He couldn't bare it if Casey's demeanor changed. If this was going to change things between them, he would rather deal with it in the morning.

"Where are you going?" Casey whispered. "To bed." Dan muttered unable to look Casey in the eye.

Casey stood and reached out for Dan. Cupping the side of Dan's face Casey forced eye contact between them. He smiled softly as he watched Dan's pained eyes turn towards him. "May I join you?" He asked simply before moving in slightly and bringing his lips to Dan's for a tender kiss.


End file.
